In U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,616 (Fesler), there is disclosed portable towel accessory for protecting a towel from getting wet or soiled. As stated in that patent, there are many situations in which this is desirable, such as golfing, fishing, bowling, and working in a machine shop. For example, in golf it is difficult to keep a towel dry during a rainy period because of the exposed conditions on the golf course, and a dry towel is a considerable help to a golfer in that it enables him to dry his clubs, club handles or his hands.
The towel accessory device disclosed in the Fesler patent comprises a special protective cover made of a sheet of water-resistant or waterproof material, and an associated towel. Both the towel and cover include, in a preferred embodiment, a pair of holes through which an openable loop passes. The cover and towel are suspended from the loop so that they hang freely, with each assuming the shape of a pleated cone, and with the central portions of the towel and cover forming the apexes of the cones. This enables a user to use the towel by reaching upwardly under the cover. The cover and towel are connected together, e.g., by the loop, so that the positions of the two can be reversed, i.e., so that the cover can be draped over the towel or, alternatively, the towel can be draped over the cover.
There are a number of disadvantages associated with the portable towel accessory disclosed in the Fesler patent. For example, if the accessory is dropped or falls on damp or wet ground, the tendency of the device, because of its pleated cone configuration, is to spread out so that the towel can be soiled or get wet. Further, the need to resort to the awkward, cumbersome operation of threading the openable loop (chain or rope) through the two sets of holes before the device is ready to use is also a disadvantage. Further, although the portable towel accessory disclosed in the Fesler patent is relatively simple in construction as will appear, that construction is more complex than the towel-protective cover assembly of the invention.